5 Years Later
by manic bipolar pretzel
Summary: James is said to be gone, but Lily refuses to belive it. 5 years after he's gone, Lily has 3 days to put together the puzzle, or...
1. Gone

I sit upon my window ledge, looking out over the angry seas. It seems that the winter's cold has also frozen my heart, for when I think of you I feel nothing. It is a blank, empty, nothing. It is almost as though the knowledge that you and I are done is a mere thought that was swept away on the chilly breeze that steals warmth from my body. It is growing hard to write with my frozen hands, but I cannot tell whether they are frozen from the chilling weather or from the coldness of my heart. It seems as though losing you made me lose myself.  
  
Lily put down her quill, and looked at her journal. "It sounds like a bad romance novel," she muttered. However, she couldn't deny how she felt. It was her essence, and to deny her essence was to deny herself. It was ironic, that she was so against denying herself, when she already felt as though she was lost when she lost him. Him.  
  
James Potter.  
  
Her Hogwarts sweetheart. Her only boyfriend ever. Her first crush. Her first love. Her first loss.  
  
She had gotten the news that cold, gray morning, when the owl had come chasing after her as she laughingly darted around the rocks and boulders that made up this part of the coastland in Wales. It was immediately after she had read the letter that the day ceased to be real. She had fervently hoped that this was just a bad dream, a horrible nightmare that she would wake up from cold and sweating, but writing to James would make her realize the stupidity of her worry.  
  
It wasn't just a bad dream, a horrible nightmare. It was the sharp, unrelenting coldness of reality that bit at her, scratched at her soul until she almost cried out loud in pain.  
  
She got up from the window ledge, and closed the window as though she hoped to shut out the world in the same action.  
  
Walking down the stairs, Lily told herself that it was a lie, that it wasn't true. It couldn't be true! She wouldn't believe it!  
  
Today, December 27th, two days after she had last seen his laughing face!  
  
James Potter couldn't be dead!  
  
**************************************************************************** **  
  
December 24th 5 years later.  
  
Lily woke up from her bed, and went downstairs. She sighed, walking over to the kitchen, preparing to make herself a light breakfast before going to work. Lily didn't look happy, and she hadn't looked happy for a long time. Such a long time, in fact, that it had been almost 5 years since anyone had ever seen a smile on her face. 5 years.  
  
It was so sad, Lily thought, that Aurors were needed to often these days. Lily was an Auror, and some said that she was the best Auror. To date, she had brought in 10 Death Eaters, and she had never once failed to catch one. It often took her moths, once almost a year, before she could gather significant evidence and proof to take them down. But she always did.  
  
After about 15 minutes, Lily Apparated out of her home on the coast of Wales, and Disapparated into her office at the Ministry of Magic. Settling down at her desk at 7:30, she looked at her inbox to see what her next assignment was. It was rather empty today, with only two letters in it.  
  
One was a letter from her friend Arabella Figg, inviting her to a party that she and Sirius were throwing on Christmas.  
  
The other was her next assignment: to find out the loyalties of one Lucius Malfoy. Lily knew what was implied: if he is a Death Eater get the proof and bring him in. There was a note at the bottom of the letter. Lily almost groaned out loud; working with Severus Snape! Lily didn't trust Snape. Dumbledore thought that he was trustworthy, and true, he had never been wring to date, but Lily still couldn't shake off the feeling of doubt that she had.  
  
Before reading over Malfoy's record, she glanced at the calendar, and immediately wished that she hadn't. It was December 24th, three days away from the 5 year anniversary of James's disappearance. Everyone else referred to it as the day of his death but Lily knew that they were wrong. She knew it!  
  
Noticing some unusual things in Malfoy's record, she Apparated over to the Leaky Cauldron to talk to the bartender. Tom had been helpful before.  
  
A few minutes after Lily left, a cloaked figure appeared asking to speak with a "Miss Evans". After being informed that the inquired was out, the figure left, muttering. The only words that could be heard were: "5 years".  
  
a/n: so , whaddaya think? good? bad? kill myself? i dunno, so tell me what u guys think. oh, and shameless plug-ins, go read y other fics!!! u know u wanna!!  
  
anyhoozles, thanx for reading, now review!!! 


	2. Countdown: Day 1

a/n: im sry if the first time i tried to post this i did it wrong oops!!!  
  
disclaimer: this is the only one for this whole story, so here goes: characters and setting are j. k. rowling's, as is anything else u recognize. plot and some spells are mine, and that's it *sobs*  
  
Grumbling, Lily left the Leaky Cauldron. Well, Tom had been absolutely no help! She was sorely disappointed in that man. Tom might be considered by some to be a mercenary, but Lily knew he gave false information to those who offered money. It insulted his integrity to have someone think he would lie right off.  
  
Lily wandered through the streets of Diagon Alley, and she blended in perfectly. She stopped at store windows, went into shops as though she was buying something, and smiled and waved at imaginary friends that everyone else assumed were there. As she headed toward Knockturn Alley, She muttered, "I'm starting to think that I'm too good at this job."  
  
She headed towards a run-down little shack on the nastiest side of the alley. Her image had changed almost immediately as she entered the alley. Lily scowled at everyone, she had her hand twitch as though itching for her wand, and she expertly gave off the appearance of a shady character.  
  
As she entered The Death Row, she took note of the people outside the shop. You could always tell what kind of a day it was at Knockturn Alley by the people outside. An old lady, a hag, and a suspiciously vampire-like man. Hmmm, it looks like he's been getting a couple of questioners in there. The hag hissed as she passed, and Lily hissed back ferociously. The hag, satisfied, sat back down on the muddy alleyway.  
  
Entering the shop, she heard Ratskin call out, "No customers today! Sorry miss-"  
  
Grabbing Ratskin by his neck over the counter, Lily hissed, "I'm not customer, Ratskin, and you know it. Now clear out your shop." She twitched her hand suggestively of what might happen if he didn't heed, and he obediently sent all the hags, workers, and God-knows-what-else's outside.  
  
"You been ratting on me?" Lily said. She always slipped into a rough way of talking out here; it helped to disguise her. She knew him only as Ratskin, and he knew her only as Dragon's Blood.  
  
"N-no, Dragon's Blood, I swear. P-people came around n-nosing earlier today, b-but I wasn't telling n-nothin' 'bout yous, honest!" Lily glared at him from under her hood. It was quite a disconcerting picture, with only her eyes showing, red in anger. "I-I swears it o-over m-me own w- wand!"  
  
Nodding gruffly, Lily said, "Any news 'bout a Malfoy?"  
  
Shaking his head, Ratskin said, "N-no, not n-nothin'." Lily promptly grabbed him and threw him against the wall quite easily; it was obvious he hadn't eaten in a few days.  
  
"That ain't the answer I want."  
  
Scrambling up from a heap on the floor, Ratskin said, "I-I hears what y- yous been doin's, ratting us'n's ou-outta them d-dirty Aurors."  
  
Lily walked over to him and grabbed by the throat, pulling him up and holding him, dangling him an inch above the floor. "I only takes care'v what's interferin' with my bizness. You don't want no ones interferin' with my bizness, do yous?"  
  
"N-no, Dragon's Blood, but t-turnin' 'em in, a-ain't that k-kinda harsh?"  
  
"Woulja rather I had 'em taken care of? I can have you taken cares of, if that's whachu wants-"  
  
"N-no! P-please! That d-dirty Malfoy came strollin' 'round here yesterday like, snooping up some k-kinda vampire tooth all snooty like."  
  
"Did he say want he wanted it for?"  
  
"C-course not. P-please, I c-can't breathe-" and Lily dropped him, gasping, to the floor. She threw him 10 galleons, her customary pay, and said, 'Yous better be right,', her customary threat, and then she walked out.  
  
"M-member, I says nothin'!" he called after her retreating back.  
  
Lily walked out, maintaining her 'Give Me a Reason to Kill You' image. She headed back towards Diagon Alley, and the hag followed her. As soon as Lily reached the edge of Knockturn Alley, and hand grabbed her neck and a wand pushed into her back. Preparing to fight, Lily was dragged back into the shadows.  
  
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THE END  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
lol j/k i wouldn't do that to u guys  
  
sry, but i had to (couldn't resist)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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"Stay calm, it's ok," a voice hissed in her ear. The hairs on the back of Lily's neck stood on end. There was something familiar about that voice. . .  
  
"Turn around real slow, and don't reach for your wand- I got you covered." Lily slowing turned around, ready to fight with her fists if necessary. She found herself facing the hag from outside the run-down shack. But wait- there was no way a hag would have such a sparkle in their eye.  
  
"We're gonna take a walk into Diagon Alley. You're not gonna believe what you're gonna see, But I promise you that it's real." Tensed, Lily tried to decipher the strange meaning of the words. She began walking, with the "hag" a little behind her. After a few minutes, she turned her head, and stared. James. . .  
  
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"I've been stuck in those damn dungeons for five years now. I don't know where they are, except that they're surrounded by a forest," James concluded. Lily nodded, not trusting herself to speak with James there. "Lily?"  
  
She snapped out of her reverie. "Yeah?"  
  
"You ok"  
  
"Yeah. It's just a bit of a shock-"  
  
James smiled, and pulled at her. "C'mon. Let's go somewhere where we can talk."  
  
"My place?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Together, they Apparated to Lily's house.  
  
"We need to find out where you were, James. A Memory Charm won't help; you never saw how you got in. There's a Telling Potion that would work, but I can't get the ingredients fast enough."  
  
James thought for a bit. Then, smiling, he said, "You willing to take a trip to Hogwarts?"  
  
"What?"  
  
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"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Lily muttered. Hand in hand, she and James were racing stealthily through the halls of Hogwarts. They raced towards Snape's stores, and stole the necessary ingredients: lacewing, werewolf hair, . . .  
  
After 10 minutes of filching, Lily motioned for James to stop. "Filch," she mouthed. "Shit!" James mouthed back.  
  
Filch passed by the door, and Lily and James wordlessly agreed to leave now. They ran through the halls, towards the front entrance. This time, it was James who stopped Lily. "McGonagall." They turned, and then "Filch." Great. They were trapped in a long hallway, with no classrooms to hide in, and no invisibility cloak.  
  
James looked at Lily for a second. "Did you notice all the students in Hogsmeade?" Getting the message, Lily said, "The blond pair?" Smirking, James nodded. Sighing (or pretending to), Lily whispered, "Whatever it takes."  
  
Together, they stripped down t boxers (James), a bra and her jeans (Lily). They performed the necessary spell to look like the pair, and made a pile of their clothes, concealing the bag. Shoving Lily against the wall, they began to work. Oh gods, Lily thought, this is. . . mmm. . .  
  
Soon, they were no longer acting, and Lily was sorely disappointed when McGonagall rounded the corner.  
  
"Mr. Bronchowitz! Ms. Snallar! Go to your dorms immediately!" McGonagall was bright red. "To your INDIVIDUAL dorms!"  
  
With that, she stormed away towards Filch. Lily and James hurriedly dressed and ran out, making it out of the castle. Laughing, they walked off the grounds, and Apparated back to Lily's place.  
  
Once there, they began to talk again. James asked Lily how she'd been, and she said, "I've been terrible. I couldn't believe you were dead, and I just couldn't get over it."  
  
James looked at her. Continuing, she said, "When you were gone, life just didn't seem worth living."  
  
There was a long, uncomfortable pause, until James said, "I always thought, that if I got out, you'd be the last person I'd ever want to see again. and the only one I'd ever want to see again." Lily looked up at James, and he walked over to her. "Since we're already warmed up," he said, pulling off her shirt and pulling her towards him.  
  
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Lily woke up from their heavy duty make out (not sex, snogging for u brits and other peeps). She rolled over to look at James, and panicked. There was blood on the floor, as though someone had been wounded and dragged. And James. . . was gone.  
  
  
  
  
  
a/n: sry for the cliché, but it's the end of day 1. sry for the wait too, but i didn't know where to go with it. im planning on updating again over the break, so yeah  
  
r&r!!! 


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